A multi-generation Ann Arbor company has a role in a downtown Detroit high-rise renovation project that's attracting Opening Day crowds to an open house.

The Broderick Tower, left, in a historic photo.

From Motown Construction Partners

The Broderick Tower will have 125 residential units when the renovation is completed this fall, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press.

And so far, leasing is ahead of projections, partner Fred Beal says in the article.

Reaching that stage of the project has been a years-long effort for Beal and the other investors in the project, as they came up with the vision then navigated various approvals - including historic preservation tax credits - and the recession, which hit the Detroit housing market hard.

But Beal also remained focused on gaining a foothold in Detroit during that time for his construction business. He saw opportunity in historic restoration, demolition and the energy generated in the Midtown district.

"There are a lot of other things happening that suggest downtown has turned a corner," Beal said during an interview with Ann Arbor Business Review in May 2005.

That was just after Beal and his family business, JC Beal Construction, had both opened their first office in Detroit and signed the multi-million deal to lead restoration work on the Broderick Tower and two other downtown Detroit properties. The company headquarters remains in Ann Arbor.

On Thursday, leasing agents at the Broderick Tower were ready to lure Opening Day traffic in for a tour. Read the Free Press story.

See a photo gallery from Mlive.com.